Friday, April 27, 2007

The Continuing Saga of Home Ownership

All homes are money pits. There is always something that needs to be done. Usually something expensive that requires annoying sweaty men with butt-crack pants to stomp in dirty boots across your hard wood floors. And it's usually something invisible, like repairing burst pipes under the house, so you don't even get the satisfaction of it looking prettier when it's all over and done with.

And then there are the things you can do for yourself. Some of which are fun, like ripping out disgusting carpet and putting down pretty fake wood flooring, because there is a HUGE ta-da! factor there. Or painting walls. I love to paint walls. There is nothing that you can do to a room for so little money that makes it look better than a freshly painted wall.

And then there are the ceilings. Oh and how easy is it to ignore your ceilings, because, they are, well way up there and who walks around looking up all the time? I'm usually looking down so I don't trip over a furbag who thinks that he deserves fifty meals a day.

But there comes a point when you have to face the fact that your ceilings look like 50 kinds of crap and it must be done. And you have to face the fact that you are too cheap to hire someone to do this for you.

Then you realize that you do not own a ladder. Now, what sort of self respecting home owner doesn't own a ladder? Me, that's who. It's probably not very safe for me to own a ladder, but I need one. Like a hammer and water key, it's one of those things that you just got to have.

This is my summer project then: buy a ladder, buy paint and painting supplies, including some tarps. Lay in an extra large supply of pain relievers and get a new heating pad for the poor neck that is sure to object to the whole looking up part of painting ceilings. Post the correct number for the emergency vehicle (I can't use 911, my insurance only pays to save my life in an emergency if I call their ambulance service) on the phone.

2 comments:

I've found the best way to avoid painting the walls is to cover every available inch with hanging objects. This way, the thought of removing and rehanging all the objects precludes any thoughts of painting. And since you can't see the walls anyway, what's the dif?

M- I know I LOVE my floors. I love the giant kitten fur tumbleweeds that collect in the corners instead of being matted down in carpet. I love watching Loki try to take the corner at 100 mph and skidding out.

I don't mind painting walls - I've painted every wall in this house, in fact, I enjoy it. It's the ceilings that are going to be a witch.